Ancient Ontario Smoking Pipes

The smoking pipe was a distinctive cultural feature of the
pre-contact Iroquoian-speaking peoples in Ontario, including the
Huron and their ancestors. Most were made of pottery, but sometimes
stone was also used. These pipes show a significant degree of
individual craftsmanship, yet still conform to certain socially
accepted styles or types, based on bowl shape and decoration, as
identified by archaeologists. Pipe stems were sometimes decorated
too.

Effigy pipes appear in the Ontario archaeological record from
about the 14th century until after European contact in
the 17th century. Their bowls were modelled into
anthropomorphic (human) or zoomorphic (birds, animals, reptiles and
rodents) figures, or 'effigies.' Research indicates that
the style of zoomorphic figures remained comparatively unchanged
over the period. Representations include salamanders, snakes, owls,
bears, and wolves or dogs. The most common effigy was the human
figure, in particular the face, of which there are many different
forms and embellishments.

Various interpretations of effigy pipes have been described and
published over the last hundred or more years. Their meaning
appears to be complex, requiring multiple explanations that are
specific to each effigy. Some zoomorphic figures may represent clan
or lineage totems, others may be cosmological symbols. Human faces
may have an association with medicine mask ceremonies or with
powerful or influential individuals.